


Table for Three

by Aladin_Sane



Category: Baby Driver (2017)
Genre: Diners, I didn't think this would turn out this way., Murder, Who even knows? - Freeform, please read it, surprise murder, workplace harrassment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 12:35:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11555331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aladin_Sane/pseuds/Aladin_Sane
Summary: It was two am, the night before a job. Bats, Buddy, and Darling just wanted to go out for a late night meal, and the last person they expected to run into was Baby.





	Table for Three

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm trying to get back into the swing of this. Hit me with those requests!
> 
> I also really appreciate all the comments and kudos' some of you've been leaving! It keeps my spirits up!

"Baby, you've got a table!" Bo barked into the break room. 

With a frown, Baby checked his watch. 2:38. Usually the restaurant stayed dead until 3, when the hospital switched shifts. He hoped it was a regular on a wonky schedule. New customers were always more stressful than regulars. 

"Get a move on, Baby!" 

Darling stretched her neck to look back into the kitchen. "Ain't that cute? They must be a couple, he keeps calling her 'Baby.' We should open a cute little diner like this," she said. Settling back against Buddy, she glanced daringly at Bats before opening up her menu. 

"Alright, good evening, everyone. My name's Baby, and I'll-" With his apron half tied around his waist and a pen sticking out of his mouth, Baby froze beside the table. His eyes wandered between his three coworkers, only slightly wider than usual. 

"Wow," Bats said, a grin spread across his face. Watching his teeth expose one by one made Baby's skin bubble with goosebumps. Suddenly his mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. The skin on his chest felt like it was tightening, until he was sure they could see his heart pumping through his shirt. "So, you've got yourself a cute little side-job here, huh?"

"Uh." Baby swallowed. He really needed a drink. "Yeah. Can I start you with any drinks?" 

Darling and Buddy shared a look that Baby didn't even bother trying to understand. She leaned closer and whispered something in Buddy's ear that made him laugh. "Sorry," he muttered between chuckles while he tried to hide his smile behind his hand. 

"I think we'll all get coffee, yeah? And bring us some cream and sugar, sugar," Bats said, reaching up to pinch Baby's cheek. 

"Yeah. Alright." Baby leaned just out of reach, the same blank look cemented onto his face. This was worse than any nightmare he'd ever had before. He chanced a look back at Bo, who was staring at him in a way that meant he was taking too long. Normally he got that look when he and Debora flirted while cleaning off the tables. 

He tucked the pen behind his ear and grabbed the trey by the register. Firmly, he set down the three mugs and listened to them hit the table on time with the music. That was a little relaxing, at least. It took a little more concentration than he was used to, but he was proud when he managed to pour the three cups without his hand shaking. 

"You seem a little on edge, Baby," Bats said as he watched Baby tilt the coffee pot. 

"I'm not." That earned him a few more seconds of quiet so he could focus on the task at hand. 

"Boo." Bats slapped his hand on the table. Baby jumped, the cup of silverware rattled, and coffee spread across the table. "Uh oh. Better clean that up if you want a nice tip." 

"Sorry 'bout that." Baby grabbed a rag off the bar behind him and started to mop up the spill. 

"Baby, why do you work here?" Buddy asked. "Don't you make the same as the rest of us?" 

He chewed his lower lip while he finished pouring the coffee. "More or less." 

"Well?" Bats grabbed his wrist and yanked him closer. His breath ghosted over Baby's face and made him feel sticky. "Is it more or is it less?" 

"I make the same. I just have debts to pay."

"Ah. The plot thickens. What kind of debts? To who?" 

"Baby, for Christ's sake. I don't pay you to stand there." Bo was sounding angrier by the second. The janitor just off his shift was sitting at the bar, tapping his fingers like he always did when he was ready to be served. 

"I've got a job to do. Let me know when you're ready to order." Baby flashed a warning look before he plastered on his Customer Service smile and turned to the janitor. 

"Maybe you oughtta lay off of him," Darling said, her eyes following Baby's every move. There was an edge to his friendliness as he spoke with the other customer. He smiled warmly, chatted easily about nothing important, but his eyes were dead the entire time. Even with a friendly smile on his face, he had that same empty stare he usually donned while driving. Darling smiled to herself when she saw him flip a ketchup bottle into the air and catch it behind his back before handing it to the customer. He sure knew how to draw attention away from how guarded he was. 

"Maybe we oughtta be layin' into him more. We don't know shit about Baby. How can we trust him to drive us when he's clearly loyal to an outside source," Bats said as he mixed the sugar into his coffee. 

"How do you know that?" Buddy asked. 

"He's got debts. If he owes somebody something, then his loyalties probably lie with them. How do we know it ain't the cops he owes so much money to." 

"People don't just owe money to the cops. That'd go to the government or something. Hell, for all we know he's talking student loans. That's a debt, and those prices are through the roof." Darling rolled her eyes to prove her point before ripping open a sugar packet with her teeth. 

"We're ready to order!" Bats called, raising his hand over his head. 

"Right. Great. What can I get for you?" Baby pulled out his notepad and tapped his pen to the top of the page to make sure it worked. He pointedly kept his eyes on the notepad. 

"I'm gonna get two eggs, over-easy, and toast with peach jam." Bats handed over his menu. "Think you can handle that?"

"We don't have peach jam."

"Well, you'll just have to figure something out for me then." Something poked Baby's thigh under the table. He looked down to find a gun pressed point-blank against his leg. "Won't you, Baby?"

He kept his eyes focused on the gun for a few long seconds of silence. With one hand, he grabbed the barrel of it, just to test how firm Bats' grip was. "I'm sorry, sir." The sarcasm that colored his voice surprised even him. "But we don't have peach jam." 

The click sound of Bats turning off the safety was unmistakable to everyone around the table. Baby didn't flinch. 

"Let's settle this down, yeah? It's just jam." Buddy placed one hand on the table, pointed his gun at Bats just beneath it. 

"I don't like his tone. We're paying customers. What did we ever do to be treated like this?" Bats turned his dangerous smile back to Baby, who swallowed in spite of himself. "What'd we do, Baby?"

He looked around quickly. "Just let me finish taking your order. Then I can sit for a minute," Baby said. His handwriting was shakier than usual as he scribbled down Darling's french toast and Buddy's eggs and bacon. He placed the order in the window to the kitchen, not meeting Bo's eyes either. How the hell was he supposed to explain this? 

"Yeah, Bo, these are my coworkers from the illegal bank robbery I do as my second job. I hate them and they hate me, but we work together because if we don't, our boss will kill us. I'd quit if I could, but money's tight. This economy's killer, am I right?" he grumbled to himself as he turned back to face the team.

He tried to put himself in the mindset of working for Doc, the exact opposite of how he was supposed to act in the diner. Here, he was supposed to be a more charming and welcoming version of himself. Having his other coworkers show up threw him for a loop. Was he supposed to be charming or dead inside? Crack jokes or keep quiet? To help get himself in the zone, he saddled up to the old jukebox in the corner and tried to pick something that sounded illegal. Buddy Holly didn't really give off bank robber vibes. 

Baby wasn't sure if The Clash gave off the right vibes either, but "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" just fit the situation so well. He peeked into the kitchen to make sure Bo was busy cooking up the orders. That should buy him a little time. He slid into the booth next to Bats and ripped open a sugar packet. 

"I wasn't expecting you three to show up," he said, pouring the sugar right onto his tongue. 

"We didn't think you would be here," Darling said. 

"Yeah, it's not like our plan was to fuck with you," Buddy added. 

Baby looked between the two of them, but didn't say anything. The message was crystal clear. "Could've fooled me." Usually Buddy appreciated the brief moments where he could tell what Baby was thinking. But today it just made his stomach lurch. Seeing Baby so stressed out made Buddy feel like a bad person, which he hadn't felt since he'd started waking up every morning to a line of coke. 

"Why do you hate us so much anyways? Huh, Baby?" Bats threw an arm around his shoulders and jostled him back and forth. Baby kept his eyes on the table, his jaw clenched. "I don't hate you."

"You don't?" 

"Of course not! What? You think just because I give you a hard time, I hate you?" 

"No. I think you telling me that you want me dead and that you hate me means that you hate me." 

Bats couldn't decide if he wanted to laugh or stab Baby in the bladder. To satisfy himself, he chuckled while pressing the edge of his switchblade into Baby's side. "Do they call you 'Baby' because you're so damn cute?" He pushed the blade further, just enough to cut through the thin cotton of Baby's grey shirt. "Or is it because you're so fucking stupid?" 

"Both." He closed his eyes lightly when the knife split into his skin and took a steadying breath. Doc always told him that as long as he didn't show any weakness in front of the others, he'd be fine. Reacting just made them want to go further. He hoped to God that Doc was right. 

"Bats, leave him alone," Darling said with a bored sigh. 

"Hey!" Bo hit the bell by the counter. "What the hell are you doing?" 

"Sorry, sorry." Baby hustled up to the counter. When he grabbed the plates, Bo held onto the other side to keep him in place for a second. 

"Listen, if you keep slacking off like this, I'm taking an hour off of your paycheck."

Baby wanted to roll his eyes. Wow, a whole $7.50. How was he gonna live without it? 

"They're family. Visiting from the North. I haven't seen 'em in years," he said instead. 

"Oh, well, my bad." Bo shook his head and looked at Baby as if he was growing a second head. "Do you think I give a shit? I don't pay you to catch up with family. Now, Jack's running low on coffee. Don't forget about your other customers." 

Baby nodded and got to work. He dropped the hot plates of food in front of the trio, shook the pain from the burns out of his hands. Trying his best to be friendly, he spent a few minutes with Jack at the bar. It was an easy routine of a conversation between them. 

"How's work?"

"Work's good. How's Joe?"

"Still deaf and in a wheelchair."

A shared laugh, three quick noises. 

"No, but Joe's doing well. He liked the football game on Sunday, did you see it?"

"Yeah, did you see that..."

It was background noise. Baby knew all the jokes, all the questions. It was like reading from a script for the 8th time in a day and trying to keep it from sounding practiced. Once they'd finished running through the conversation, he turned to wiping down the counters. He could feel the unholy trio staring him down as he went about his work, but he couldn't bother looking over. Bo had been running out of patience for months now, and he wouldn't be surprised if he found himself without a job by the end of his shift. 

"Hey, sweetheart, can we get a little service?" The sound of Bats' voice made Baby's shoulders tense. Regardless, he walked over to the table. 

"What can I do for you?" he asked. 

"See, I like the sound of that. 'What can I do for you?' Why don't you talk sweet like that when we work together?" 

"I ain't paid to talk sweet, I'm paid to drive. You folks want dessert or something?" Baby decided that talking to Buddy and Darling was his best bet. He turned his body just slightly to make it clear he was done talking to Bats. Maybe he'd take a bullet to the back of the head for that later, but for now it was all he could do to stop from exploding. 

"We've still got a few questions," Buddy said. 

Baby looked behind him towards the kitchen. Bo was watching him carefully. "I'm working. I can't." 

"Who do you owe money to? Maybe we can help you out," Darling said. She gently put her hand on Baby's forearm, her eyes glued to the growing stain on his side. 

"For a fee, of course. We do something for you, you do something for us," Buddy added. 

Baby grabbed a napkin off their table and pressed it against his side. "You can't do anything about it. It's between me and... the person I owe money to. It's managed. But I work here and right now, I have to do my job. How are you splitting the bill?" 

"It's on me. Why don't you two go warm up the car?" Bats said. 

He and Baby maintained eye contact while Buddy and Darling slid out of their seats. She gave Baby's bicep a reassuring squeeze before leaving, Buddy left Bats with a warning glare. Baby slapped the bill down on the counter. 

"I'm gonna go clean the men's room. I would really like it if you were gone by the time I came back," he said. Bats didn't even blink. Neither of them moved. Baby took a deep breath. "Please?" 

"Sure, Baby. I'll be outta your hair before you know it." 

Another moment stayed suspended between them before Baby broke away. He tried to push the situation out of his head while he scrubbed out the sink in the bathroom. It probably should have bothered him more that he couldn't make eye contact with himself in the mirror. He made the executive decision to not think too hardly about it. 

He wiped his hands on his apron and hefted the bucket of cleaning supplies in his arms. The hospital should be switching shifts soon, there'd be a small rush any minute. Humming to himself, Baby pushed out of the bathroom backwards. 

When he turned to face the restaurant, the bucket slipped out of his hands like it had been coated in grease. Bleach was staining his sneakers, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. Jack was still sat at the bar, but a pool of blood was forming from the wound in his neck. His body hung limp, his feet still swaying slightly. The ringing in Baby's ears was giving him a headache. He still didn't move. 

The roaring of an engine outside shook him back to life. He turned just in time to watch the red back lights of some sports car peel out of the parking lot. Baby burst into the kitchen frantically. Bo was in a similar state as Jack, but his face was sizzling slightly on the grill. The sight made bile bubble up in Baby's throat, but he swallowed it back down. He had to get out of here. Talking to the police for any reason could be dangerous. 

Baby threw on his jacket and pushed in his earbuds as quick as he could. He didn't even bother trying to pick a song, settling for whatever popped up on shuffle instead. It still wasn't enough to drown out the ringing in his ears. As he went to leave, he noticed something sitting on the counter by the register. His heart was pounding in his throat as he stepped closer.

With trembling fingers, he picked up the bill Bats left behind. A $200 tip for a $30 meal, at least the bastard tipped well. Cautiously, he turned the receipt over in his hand. The message on the back caused all the fear to drain out of his body. Instead, it was filled with a burning rage. With a furious flame licking at his heels, Baby marched out of the diner. 

The receipt landed face down on the tile. Bats' chaotic handwriting was facing the ceiling, the first thing the tired, hungry hospital staff saw when they arrived at the diner. 

"See ya soon, Baby!"


End file.
